Manchester City
‘It’s true’, Ronald Koeman confirms Barcelona are interested in signing £27m-rated centre-back
Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has acknowledged that the club are looking to land the services of Eric Garcia from Manchester City before Monday’s transfer deadline. Garcia made his debut for the Cityzens last term and he has since made only 11 starts for the club across all competitions. He has declined the opportunity to sign a new deal beyond June 2021 and this has increased the speculation regarding his future. Earlier on Friday, Pep Guardiola admitted that Garcia wants to return to the Blaugrana, where he spent nine years in the youth ranks. Koeman has now confirmed that the Blaugrana are indeed interested in Garcia, but he is unsure whether the club can get a deal over the line. “It’s true we want Eric Garcia here. I’ve seen Pep’s comments and that’s how it is,” He told in a press conf...
Report: The unprecedented thing Pep’s City did in training ahead of Leeds clash
Leeds United host Manchester City this evening as head coach Marcelo Bielsa clashes with one of his former mentees Pep Guardiola for the first time in England. The City manager often cites the influence the Whites boss had on his managerial career, and both will secretly hope to outdo one another at Elland Road today. Leeds have lost once since returning to the top-flight, giving Liverpool a run for their money in a 4-3 defeat on the opening day of the weekend. They have since secured deserved victories over Fulham and Sheffield United, and not many will bet against them shocking Man. City. Guardiola’s side suffered a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Leicester City last weekend at the Etihad Stadium, and they are clearly not invincible. The Spaniard took an unprecedented move in training yesterd...
Jurgen Klopp surprised by Liverpool’s early season form
Jurgen Klopp said Monday that he has been blown away by the standards Liverpool have set at the start of their Premier League title defence after coming from behind to beat Arsenal 3-1 at Anfield. Goals from Sadio Mane, Andy Robertson and Diogo Jota saw off the Gunners, who had won their opening two league games of the season. While Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham and now Arsenal have all lost in the opening three weeks of the new campaign, Liverpool have taken maximum points to lay down an early marker that they remain the team to beat in the Premier League this season. “It’s really early in the season and with this performance it is absolutely ‘wow’,” said coach Klopp. “From the first second, (it was) dominant against a team in form. We had to be careful like hell ...
Leicester boss hails Jamie Vardy after Manchester City romp
Brendan Rodgers hailed Jamie Vardy’s “incredible view of football” after the Leicester talisman scored a hat-trick for the Premier League pacesetters in their 5-2 victory against Manchester City. The 33-year-old former England international converted two penalties and scored one from open play as the 2016 champions came from 1-0 down at the Etihad on Sunday. It is the first time in 686 games as a manager that Pep Guardiola has seen his side concede five goals. The victory gave Leicester maximum points from their first three games in the English top-flight for the first time in their history. Rodgers praised Vardy’s overall awareness of the game. “He’s a phenomenal player,” said the Leicester boss. “He’s tactically so good. You see his goals and runs but he has an incredible view of footbal...
Micah Richards slams Manchester City defenders after Leicester thrashing
Micah Richards has slammed the Manchester City defence for their performance in their hammering by Leicester, accusing them of being “reactive, rather than proactive”. City’s weaknesses at the back were ruthlessly exposed by the Foxes, who fought back from a goal down to claim a famous 5-2 victory. Jamie Vardy was the star performer, hitting a hat-trick, with further goals from James Maddison and Youri Tielemans sealing the win. It is the first time a team managed by Pep Guardiola has shipped five goals and the first time City have conceded five goals at home in 17 years. It is not, however, the first time the team’s defence has been questioned, with a shaky back line one of the reasons why City failed to mount a sustained defence of their title last season. Richards certainly didn’t hold ...
Report: Liverpool ask Mane to convince £74m star to join them after agreeing terms with City
According to Le Parisien (via GFFN), Liverpool are looking to pip Manchester City to the signature of Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly and have asked his Senegalese teammate Sadio Mane to help convince him about moving to Anfield. The 29-year-old is keen to join Man City and has agreed personal term and already reached a provisional contract agreement with Pep Guardiola’s side. Liverpool want to bolster their defence after manager Jurgen Klopp was forced to play Fabinho in central defence alongside Virgil van Dijk against Chelsea on Sunday, and they want Koulibaly. Paris Saint-Germain have also been linked with the Napoli star, but the Serie A outfit are asking for around £74 million (€80 million) for his signature and they aren’t keen to pay that much. Le Parisien claim Liverpool are ...
Manchester City name new captain after Silva departure
Getty Images Fernandinho will be Manchester City’s captain for the 2020-21 season, manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed. David Silva took the armband after the departure of long-serving skipper Vincent Kompany last season before the Spain playmaker opted to call time on his decade-long stay at the Etihad Stadium. It means the responsibility will now be passed to Fernandinho, another stalwart of City’s modern era, after the 35-year-old was voted captain by his team-mates and other members of staff. “He will be good [as a leader], as he always has been since I met him,” Guardiola said of the Brazil international who joined City from Shakhtar Donetsk for £30million in 2013 and is out of contract next June. “It doesn’t matter [whether or not Fernandinho has] the armband, he is always a guy who ...
Report: Midfielder turned down Leeds United this summer
Leeds United wanted to sign Tommy Doyle from Manchester City in the summer transfer window, according to The Manchester Evening News. It has been reported that Leeds – who are playing in the Premier League this season after winning automatic promotion from the Championship – wanted to sign the youngster, but he sees his future at City instead. The 18-year-old midfielder has signed a new contract at City which will see him stay at the Etihad Stadium until 2025 and is convinced that he can break into the first team in the coming years, according to the report. However, according to the report, a loan deal away from the Etihad Stadium has not been ruled out. Manchester City stay Doyle is only 18 years of age, and he is just starting his professional club football career. While it would be gre...
Alexandre Lacazette pledges future to Arsenal amid Juventus links
Alexandre Lacazette has said that he has no intention of departing Arsenal while the club has an exciting future under boss Mikel Arteta. After taking over from Unai Emery midway through the 2019-20 campaign, Pep Guardiola’s former assistant at Manchester City has led the Gunners to FA Cup and Community Shield glory. While there has previously been speculation about the future of their France international forward, he has been happy to decisively push that to one side. “I’m at Arsenal. I signed a five-year contract to improve and win titles. I’ve got two years left and I’m determined to stay,” he said to L’Equipe. When asked if that is his final decision, he replied: “From me, yes.” Meanwhile, the 29-year-old has insisted that he knows nothing about links to the likes of Juventus and Atlet...
Gary Lineker offers four-word reaction to Man City star’s latest Twitter post
Former great England striker turned popular football pundit Gary Lineker took to social networking site Twitter to congratulate Kevin de Bruyne for winning the PFA Player of the Year award for the 2019/20 season. The 29-year-old is arguably one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, and he was just brilliant last season for Manchester City. Lineker has congratulated him on Twitter, adding the award is ‘much deserved’. Many congratulations. Much deserved. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 https://t.co/U3jbUp6t8d — Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) September 9, 2020 The Belgian is the first Manchester City player to win the award since its inception at the end of the 1973-74 season. De Bruyne beat last year’s winner Virgil van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold, Sadio Ma...
Premier League set to reject requests to postpone games due to Covid outbreaks
Premier League officials are set to reject requests to postpone games in the event of Covid outbreaks amongst top-flight sides, with clubs required to fulfil fixtures unless they have fewer than 14 players available. The 2020/21 season is set to begin this weekend with the division’s authorities determined to finish the rescheduled and congested campaign on time ahead of next summer’s European Championships, with clubs having been informed that fixtures will need to be fulfilled even in the event of significant coronavirus outbreaks amongst top-flight squads. According to the Mail, Premier League clubs will be required to fulfil fixtures unless they have less than 14 players available for selection, including U21 players, who they will be obliged to play in the event of such circumstances....
Report: Hammers looking to pip City to midfielder compared to Patrick Vieira
According to Daily Telegraph, West Ham United are interested in Whyteleafe FC midfielder Courtney Clarke and have sent scouts to run the rule over the non-league teenager. Manchester City’s scouts have also watched the 17-year-old in action, and the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion, Millwall and Charlton have also monitored him. Despite his age, Clarke has been playing regular senior football in the Isthmian League. While the eighth tier of the football pyramid can never be compared to the top-flight, the teenager’s quality continues to attract teams across the Football League. West Ham are looking for cheap players this summer as the coronavirus pandemic has dealt a huge blow on their finances, and they could be looking to make a move for the youngster. Clarke has been compared to a yo...
